1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a thermochromic smart window and a method of manufacturing the thermochromic smart window through which light transmittance varies according to a surrounding temperature.
2. Background
A smart window adjusts a transmission of a solar light. A material for adjusting the transmission of the solar light is directly applied on the smart window, and by doing so, it is possible to provide a user with the convenience of significantly reducing or increasing the transmittance of the solar light, compared to a method of attaching a film having a particular fixed transmittance to a window.
According to a type of materials indicating functions, a smart window can be classified as a liquid crystal smart window, a suspended particle display (SPD) smart window, an electrochromic (EC) smart window, a photochromic (PC) smart window, a thermochromic smart window, etc.
From among the aforementioned materials, the transmission of the solar light through a thermochromic smart window varies according to its temperature. In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the thermochromic smart window has a characteristic by which a reflectance of the thermochromic smart window is relatively high at a temperature greater than or equal to a particular temperature, and a transmission (or transmittance) of the thermochromic smart window is relatively high at a temperature less than or equal to the particular temperature, with respect to infrared rays whose wavelengths are greater than those of visible rays. Accordingly, in the winter in which an outdoor temperature is low, since the transmission (or transmittance) of the thermochromic smart window is great with respect to the infrared ray emitting (or transmitting) heat, the thermochromic smart window transmits the infrared ray so that heating costs may be saved. On the other hand, in the summer in which the outdoor temperature is high, since the transmittance of the thermochromic smart window is small with respect to infrared rays, the thermochromic smart window blocks inflow of heat so that cooling costs may be saved.